Another Hospital Moment
by Wicked42
Summary: Casey lands in the hospital, and Walsh isn't happy. Shraeger x Walsh.


A/N: I haven't seen the series all the way through, but oh my gosh, I just love Jeremy Renner. So here you go, a hospital moment because it's 1:30am and I don't have the brain capacity for anything else.

DISCLAIMER: As stated, I haven't seen the series all the way through. I don't know if they get together. But in my perfect world, they do. :3 (Please don't tell me. I'll find out tomorrow. :P )

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Another Hospital Moment

She woke up in an empty hospital room. The heart monitor beeped softly, and she stared numbly at the ceiling. Her memory was blank, and that bothered her. She tried to move her hands, but there were tubes all up her arms and she felt sore all over.

Walsh walked in five minutes later holding a water bottle. He stopped short when he saw her awake, and she stared at him in confusion. After a moment, he closed the door and dropped into the seat by her bed.

"I thought you didn't like hospitals," she said. Her voice was rough and quiet, and her throat felt like sandpaper. She coughed, but that hurt too, so she settled with closing her eyes and drawing shallow breaths.

Walsh watched expressionlessly, and replied, "I thought you didn't like boats." He was tense; she could tell from his voice. But the fact that he was here at all said everything.

"It must have been serious."

"It was," he said. She thought about opening her eyes, but it was just easier to keep them closed. She was almost asleep again when Walsh slammed the water bottle onto the ground. She looked at him in surprise, and he glared. "What the _hell_, Casey? You wait for backup. You always _fucking_ wait for backup!"

Casey frowned. If she wasn't so exhausted, she would have responded to his anger in kind. As it was, he had an unfair advantage. "I can't remember… I don't know what happened, Walsh."

He must have heard the fear in her voice, because he slouched against the chair and scrubbed his eyes. "You found the bank robber. He ran onto one of the ferries, and you followed. There was an explosion." He paused. He couldn't look at her as he said, "You were thrown into the water."

She remembered that. She remembered a dangerous heat, the accompanying force that pushed her over the railing. The water had felt like cement, and she'd had a blessed moment of peace as the freezing water rushed over her.

After that, though, nothing.

"You would have died," Walsh said, leaning forward again. He had dark shadows under his eyes and sounded as tired as she felt. "You almost did. You were half frozen when some cop pulled you out of the water."

Casey nodded. This was a peril of the job. But he was waiting for more, so she said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Walsh laughed, but it was hollow and rang with defeat.

"I should have waited for you," she said softly, turning her head to look at him properly. He held her gaze. He had beautiful eyes, full of sorrow and tribulation and hope. She smiled weakly, because at the very least, she couldn't lose this friendship. She couldn't lose him. "Next time, I will."

For a moment, he simply stared. Then he pushed to his feet and paced to the door, and when he turned around, his eyes were narrowed darkly, "Damn it, Shraeger, can't you wait until you're _not_ hooked up to a heart monitor before saying shit like that?"

She chuckled. The pain flared up again, but she disregarded it, closing her eyes again. "Sorry."

"Stop apologizing," he ordered harshly, stalking back to her bed. "Jesus, you scared the shit out of me, you know that? They had you in the ICU for two _days_. You broke three ribs, fractured two more, sprained your wrist, and don't even get me started on the bruises. Oh," he laughed again, still glaring, "and you're in the final recovery stage of hypothermia. Thanks for the heart attack."

"You had a heart attack?" she said.

"Funny," he replied.

She was exhausted, and the pull of sleep was nothing short of alluring. She braved a deeper breath, ignoring the ache in her ribs. Walsh seemed to realize he was losing her, because he sat down again and touched her arm. She pried her eyes open to look at him.

"Hmm?" she mumbled.

He let out a sigh and said, "Just… get well soon, okay? I can't guarantee I'll be here later." He left out the reason, but she knew. She could tell by the look on his face. He could only brave the hospital for so long.

"Thanks for being here now," she told him, lifting her hand. He hesitated, but reached over to grip it anyway, and she gave him a comforting squeeze. "I'll see you back at the precinct."

Walsh stared at their hands. Then he bent forward and pressed his lips to her fingers. He was out the door before she could say goodbye, but that was fine. She was too tired for pleasantries anyway.

When she woke up the next morning, Walsh was there with a folder of half-finished paperwork and a cup of terrible coffee.

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A/N: I love feedback, especially when I enter a new fandom! Did I capture these characters or just mutilate them? XD


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